Health records vendor to pay $155 million in false-claims lawsuit

BURLINGTON, Vt. – One of the country’s largest vendors of electronic health records will pay a $155 million settlement to resolve allegations it caused health care providers to submit false claims to the federal government, the U.S. Department of Justice and federal prosecutors in Vermont announced Wednesday.

The acting U.S. attorney for Vermont said eClinicalWorks, of Westborough, Massachusetts, and three executives will pay the settlement to resolve allegations the company misrepresented the abilities of its software and paid kickbacks to some customers in exchange for promoting its products.

“Every day, millions of Americans rely on the accuracy of their electronic health records to record and transmit their vital health information,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler, of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, said in statement. “This resolution is a testament to our deep commitment to public health and our determination to hold accountable those whose conduct results in improper payments by the federal government.”

Most of the money will go into federal Medicare and Medicaid funds in Washington, said Eugenia Cowles, acting U.S. attorney for Vermont, who said it was the largest False Claims Act recovery in the district of Vermont.

The case began as a whistleblower lawsuit. It was filed in Vermont by a former employee of the New York City Division of Health Care Access and Improvement.

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